ET Startup Awards: Winners demonstrate diversity in startup ecosystem

While a chief consideration for the jury was the potential for job creation, the winners show a diverse range of activity, serving to dispel the notion that Indian startups are me-too imitators of e-commerce success stories.ET Bureau | July 25, 2017, 09:31 IST

We salute the winners of the third edition of the ET Startup Awards. The jury members, comprising entrepreneurs, investors, an academic and a policymaker, had to work hard to choose the winners from a crowded field.

While a chief consideration for the jury was the potential for job creation, the winners show a diverse range of activity, serving to dispel the notion that Indian startups are, by and large, me-too imitators of e-commerce success stories.

True, one of the winners, Nykaa, and several contenders — BigBasket, LensKart — do belong to this category, but the awards shortlist and the final winners demonstrate the diversity in India’s startup ecosystem.

Startup of the year, Swiggy, delivers food, from 12,000 restaurants across eight cities, employing 20,000 people in the delivery business. It catalyses investment and jobs in the restaurant business and in the two-wheeler and accessories businesses as well.

The biggest, unnamed winner of this year’s ET Startup Awards is IIT-Madras. Its alumni have won awards and figure among contenders. This is a most welcome development, as it clearly shows that the culture of the institution promotes entrepreneurship. This is something that other IITs, technical institutions, management schools and medical colleges should emulate.

Top innovators, Bugworks and Pandorum work, respectively, in developing new antimicrobials to combat drug resistance and in 3D printing of human tissue. Both are also examples of state funding being successful in creating socially relevant innovation.

DeTect, a company conceived on the campus, serves to monitor large engineering assets using drones and sensors. Wingify helps companies make their websites generate more business. Aibono helps farmers improve yield, by adopting new technologies. NestAway locates rental homes.

Saif Partners’ Ravi Adsumalli won the Midas Touch award. By allocating global savings to grow young businesses in India, venture funds play a transformative role. As do campuses like IIT-Madras, several of whose alumni figure among the award winners and contenders.

(This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Economic Times)